Kontron : Changes in the Management Board of Kontron AG

Jul 25, 2016

Augsburg, July 25, 2016 - Following Kontron AG's Supervisory Board's decision on July 25, 2016, Rolf Schwirz has been dismissed from his position as CEO and Andreas Plikat has been dismissed from the Management Board of Kontron AG.

Sten Daugaard is taking over the position of CEO effective immediately. He will be advised by a taskforce consisting of Supervisory Board members Martin Bertinchamp, Dr. Dieter Düsedau and Harald Joachim Joos. Sten Daugaard is standing down as a Supervisory Board member, also effective immediately.

Kontron will continue to pursue the strategic reorientation announced in May 2015. The priority is to position the company as a provider of middleware and hardware and take advantage of the long-term trends towards the 'Internet of Things' (IoT) and 'Industry 4.0'.

'Sten Daugaard will now drive the company forward in terms of revenue and earnings, in systematic, planned steps,' said Rainer Erlat, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Kontron AG.

'My first priority is the rapid implementation of the changes already introduced. Our target is to add value for our customers through customer proximity and innovation, to restore profitability, and to return to a positive cash flow as soon as possible,' said Sten Daugaard.

Meanwhile, Dr. Thomas Riegler, interim CFO, has been appointed as Member of the Management Board. Frank Gumbinger will take up the position of CFO as planned by 1 January 2017 at the latest. The Supervisory Board has initiated a selection process to strengthen the Management Board in the medium term with additional technical know-how.
Sten Daugaard, originally from Denmark, has held various management positions in his home country, the US, and Germany, and has extensive
experience with restructuring companies. He served as Member of the Board of SGL Carbon AG and was later part of the turnaround of LEGO Group as Group Chief Financial Officer. In 2012, Sten Daugaard was Chief Development Officer and Member of the Executive Board of Pandora A/S in Denmark. Since 2013, Sten Daugaard has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of Kontron AG.

The members of the advisory taskforce are Martin Bertinchamp, Senior Advisor for Triton since 2012, Member of the Supervisory Board of Rothenberger Werkzeuge AG, Huber Packaging GmbH and Nordwest Handel AG in Dortmund. In the past, Martin Bertinchamp was Chairman of the Board of Metabo AG, GARDENA AG and COMPO GmbH & Co.KG, as well as Member of the Board of Husqvarna AB.

Another taskforce member is Dr. Düsedau, a graduate physicist. He worked as a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company in Munich until 2014. At McKinsey he headed the telecommunications, IT and media practice. Prior to joining McKinsey, he worked as an advisor for companies in the high-tech and financial services industry. Dr. Düsedau holds mandates in various supervisory boards.

Joachim Joos is another member. Joos has been a senior advisor for Warburg Pincus Deutschland GmbH since 2009. He graduated with a degree in engineering before starting his career at IBM Germany. In 1994, he was appointed German head of Schindler Deutschland Holding GmbH, before joining A. Stihl AG & Co as CEO in 2002. He later accepted a position with Demag Cranes AG and was instrumental in taking the company public. Joachim Joos holds various Supervisory Board mandates.

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Kontron, a global leader in embedded computing technology and trusted advisor in IoT, provides a complete and integrated portfolio of hardware, software and services. Kontron creates many of the standards that drive the world's embedded computing platforms, bringing to life numerous technologies and applications. The result is an accelerated time-to-market, reduced total-cost-of-ownership, product longevity and the best possible overall application with leading-edge, highest reliability embedded technology. Kontron is a listed company. Its shares are traded in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on other exchanges under the symbol 'KBC'. For more information, please visit: www.kontron.com

For further information please contact:

Chari Lazaridis
Head of Global Corporate Communications
Kontron AG
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

Alexandra Habekost
Head of Investor Relations
Kontron AG
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

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